Preview:

****************************************************** The ``officially released'' date that appears near the beginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the ``officially released'' date appearing in the opinion. In no event will any such motions be accepted before the ``officially released'' date. All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecticut Reports and Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the electronic version of an opinion and the print version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest print version is to be considered authoritative. The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears on the Commission on Official Legal Publications Electronic Bulletin Board Service and in the Connecticut Law Journal and bound volumes of official reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be reproduced and distributed without the express written permission of the Commission on Official Legal Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. ****************************************************** ARTHUR J. ROCQUE, JR., COMMISSIONER OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION v. NORTHEAST UTILITIES SERVICE COMPANY ET AL. (SC 16265)
Borden, Norcott, Katz, Palmer and Blue, Js. Argued May 23--officially released August 8, 2000 Counsel

Nancy Burton, for the appellant (intervenor Fish Unlimited). Richard F. Webb, assistant attorney general, with whom, on the brief, was Richard Blumenthal, attorney general, for the appellee (plaintiff). Elizabeth C. Barton, with whom were Harold M. Blinderman and, on the brief, Karen K. Clark, for the appellees (defendants).
Opinion

NORCOTT, J. Fish Unlimited, an environmental intervenor in an action brought by the plaintiff, the department of environmental protection (department),1 to

enjoin the defendants, Northeast Nuclear Energy Company and its parent corporation, Northeast Utilities Service Company, from disposing of allegedly contaminated wastewater from their nuclear power electric generating facility into the Long Island Sound, appeals from the judgment of the trial court granting the parties' joint motion for a stipulated judgment. Fish Unlimited claims that the trial court improperly: (1) granted the motion for stipulated judgment; and (2) deprived it of meaningful participation in the matter. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. The record reveals the following relevant facts. The department commenced this environmental enforcement action against the defendants on November 10, 1997, alleging violations of a National Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems permit. On May 27, 1998, the Citizens Regulatory Commission (Citizens) moved to enter the case as an environmental intervenor.2 The trial court granted the motion to intervene on July 20, 1998. While discovery progressed, the department and the defendants began settlement negotiations. The department and the defendants filed a joint motion for stipulated judgment on September 24, 1998. The stipulation provided that the defendants would pay $1.2 million, consisting of a $700,000 civil penalty and $500,000 in supplemental environmental project funding. Two hundred thousand dollars of the funding was earmarked for educational programs at Mystic Marinelife Aquarium in Mystic. The stipulation also provided for an audit system of the defendants' operations as well as the implementation of environmental initiatives to improve the performance of their Millstone Nuclear Power Generating Station. The stipulation also provided for enforcement in that the department ``may, at any time, take any and all legal, administrative, equitable or other action . . . in order to prevent or abate pollution, or should [the defendants] fail to comply with the provisions of this Stipulated Judgment.'' The trial court scheduled a hearing on the motion for stipulated judgment for October 5, 1998. At that hearing, Fish Unlimited moved to intervene pursuant to General Statutes

Download Rocque v. Utilities Service Co..pdf

Connecticut Law